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About the Year of Light

The International Year of Light is a global initiative which will highlight to the citizens of the world the importance of light and optical technologies in their lives, for their futures, and for the development of society. It is a unique opportunity to inspire, educate, and connect on a global scale.

Sunset On Mars 12.7 light minutes

Our Sun is a yellow star that often appears reddish as it sets here on Earth. That's because as the Sun descends toward the horizon, its light must travel through more of the Earth's atmosphere where air and other molecules scatter much of the blue light and makes the Sun appear redder. This image of a sunset, however, is rather different. The Mars Rover named Spirit snapped this photo from the surface of Mars—not Earth—in 2005. Not only does the Sun appear more yellow due to the lack of a significant atmosphere on Mars, it is also smaller because Mars is at a greater distance away from the Sun.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Texas A&M/Cornell
view and download image here.

NGC 602 180,000 light years

This galaxy is so bright in the southern night sky that navigators for centuries have used it to help guide them across the ocean. Modern telescopes reveal there is much more to this object than just being a bright prick of light seen from sea. This image combines three different types of light to give us this spectacular view of this neighboring galaxy to the Milky Way. In this view of the so-called Small Magellanic Cloud (named after Ferdinand Magellan), X-ray light is purple, infrared light is red, and optical light is red, green, and blue. Together, these different slices of light give us a more complete picture of a stellar nursery where stars like our Sun are being born.
Image Credit:
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. Potsdam/L. Oskinova et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech
view and download image here.

Rho Ophiuchi And Antares 520 light years

This dusty region between the constellations Ophiuchus (the "snake holder") and Scorpius (the "scorpion") contains a colorful cosmic vista. These colors tell some of the story behind the interplay between light and matter in this object. For example, the blue glow in the upper part of this image is reflected light from stars embedded in dust. The yellow glow in the lower left is light from the giant star Antares that is reflected by dust that the star itself has created. The darker black areas—especially the middle left of the picture—are caused by clouds that hide light from more distant stars in background stars. Light is commonly reflected and blocked both here on Earth and across the Universe.
Image Credit:
Australian Astronomical Observatory/David Malin
view and download image here.

Stardust Santa Barbara, California

Taken from Mount Figueroa outside Santa Barbara, California, this time-lapse photograph reveals the spectacular light from distant stars, the Milky Way galaxy, as well as the setting Sun. The light from these different sources is scattered by the water droplets of the fog that is rolling in from the Pacific Ocean. The density of water molecules in fog causes light to bounce in many directions, making it hard for it to reach an observer and obscuring our view through it.
Image Credit:
Michael Shainblum
view and download image here.

Total Solar Eclipse

A total solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon that happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth in just the right alignment, blocking the light from the Sun to certain places on Earth. Some people, often called "eclipse chasers," will travel to virtually any spot on the globe to experience a solar eclipse. Totality is when the shadow of the Moon blocks the entire disk of the Sun, leaving only its outer layer (corona) visible. This solar eclipse was photographed from Kastamonu, Turkey in August of 1999 at approximately 2:25 pm local time.
Image Credit:
Dan Schechter
view and download image here.

This website was developed by Lightsources.org, a collaboration between communicators from light source facilities around the world.

IYL2015 is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health.